Do You Miss Me?
by WonderfulDemon123
Summary: Love never brought her happiness like it did with others. Only pain from a heartbreak remained as the aftermath... but will all that change on one summer trip? Kur/Bo. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: YYH's rightful owner is Yoshihiro Togashi.**

 **Title: Do You Miss Me?**

 **By: WonderfulDemon123**

 **Chapter 1**

Love?

Botan Hotaru hates that word.

People always ponder things like, 'what is love?' – to some people, it means your friends or your family but to most, someone whom you're attracted to and want to be with. She always hear they talk about the good things of falling in love – the 'happiness' love seems to bring whenever you're around someone you care the most about.

When she thinks anything but.

To her, it means nothing. Why does everyone around her never seem to talk about heartbreaks? The anger, pain and anguish called by the _so-called_ love people seem to worship.

Everytime she hears her best friends, Keiko and Yukina talk about love, she can't help but notice how their eyes seem to glimmer, can't help but silently note to herself how happy they always look everytime they see Yusuke and Kuwabara. She listens to them each time they tell her how their relationships are going, she smiles each time she watches the couples kiss – but she never shows her repulsion towards the affection called _love_. It doesn't sound that surprising really; she always hides herself from everyone anyway, even from her closest friends. They don't know what she thinks; don't notice the way she roll her eyes sometimes, don't realize she thinks their relationships won't last.

However, to say that she has _never_ believed in love would be a total complete lie. It was because she was stupid enough to believe it once that she was in this mess. The mess she became ever since she met him.

 _Yes, him._

The very existence she loathes so much –

Shuichi Minamino…

or as he's commonly known as by friends – Kurama.

She hates the way he avoids her, the way he turns away everytime their eyes make contact, and especially the way he's always trying to upset her. What was he doing, flirting with all those girls in front of her? The pain, wrath, jealousy and _repulsion_ she feels everytime those goddamn _whores_ lay their hands on him and flirt shamelessly with him. What seems to add more fuel to fire is how he _lets_ them. _Every goddamn time_.

 _He_ is the only one who can ignite all these _negative_ emotions in her. _He_ is the only one who can hurt her so many times; the only one who does it repeatedly. _He is the only one she holds feelings for, after all._ So much so that at one point, before she even realizes it, she starts to hate him for all the pain he made her feel. And all because she just loves him too much.

She hates the word love.

Especially when it makes her think of the one person she despises on the face of earth.

* * *

Botan laid there on the bed, staring up at the wall. Eyes half lidded and blank, teeth biting on her lower lip as she once again reprimanded herself for thinking too much about _love_. About _him_.

But during nights like these, she found that she couldn't help herself. During the nights she couldn't sleep, she always over think about things. Things she didn't want to think about. Her mind had a tendency to go to matters that she would rather not dwell in, which was sometimes something she hated about herself. If she could, she would shut her mind up and only let things she _wanted_ to think about stay while the ones she didn't buried deep within the deepest depths of her mind, stopping them from entering her head, never to bother her again.

Too bad she couldn't.

A sigh escaped her as she rolled to her side. She really needed to sleep – tomorrow was a big day, after all. She was going on a summer trip with her friends. They were going to hang out. It was a well deserved break, especially after all the exams they had to take. Everyone was going to be there; Keiko, Yukina, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and…

 _Kurama_.

The name came out grudgingly in her head and she gritted her teeth, grabbing the pillow from above her head. She buried her face in it in attempt to stifle her frustrated cry. Why on earth did she agree to go? Usually, she would reject every invitation she gets if it meant Kurama would be coming as well. It was so dumb of her to go along… but maybe it was for Keiko's and Yukina's sake.

As they were always busy with exams, the three girls didn't have much time as they used to to hang out with each other, apart from when they walk home from school together. She missed her friends; she missed all the fun she had with them… which was why she agreed, wasn't it? She wanted to spend time with them again.

This was an opportunity; a once in a lifetime opportunity.

She removed the pillow from her face, and for a brief second, she smiled at the thought, but the radiant smile fell when Kurama suddenly intruded her head… _again_. What was she supposed to do? Did she have to avoid him the whole time during the trip? It would be the usual treatment again – she should be used to this by now.

Sighing again, Botan moved the pillow until it was beneath her head. There was really no use in thinking about what she should do right now… She needed to sleep, or else, she'd miss the trip. She made a promise with the others to meet at the train station at 8 o'clock. She had to wake up early.

With that thought, Botan closed her eyes, trying to let sleep take over. But, try as she might, she still couldn't sleep. Thoughts of a certain redhead still plagued her, bugging her, almost as if they were trying to stop her from sleeping.

Exasperated, Botan's brows furrowed even as her eyes remained shut tight. Frustration was written all over her face and fueling her heart with fire. Angry at herself for letting him control so much of her emotions, and angry at him for doing this to her.

She tried to remain still on the bed, assuming that someway she would be able to sleep if she did so… but her efforts were futile, as more thoughts – or should she say, memories, of the past began to invade her head, relentless in its efforts to keep her awake. And all of them, revolved around Kurama and herself.

From when they first met, became friends, how she fell in love with him and how everything just went downhill from then on…


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: YYH's rightful owner is Yoshihiro Togashi.**

 **Title: Do You Miss Me?**

 **By: WonderfulDemon123**

 **Chapter 2**

" _What are you looking at?"_

 _Botan's body jumped as instantly as the unfamiliar voice reached her ears, invading her private space and pulling her out of her own world. In a heartbeat, she closed the book she had been looking at and held it tight against her chest, almost as if she was holding to dear life. She turned to look up at the person who spoke to her, the grip she had on her book tightening as she made eye contact with a pair of emeralds staring at her with curiosity._

" _U-uh… it's nothing…" she replied in a low voice, looking away when she felt her face grow hot at the thought that her secret was almost exposed. She didn't notice there was anyone else in class as school already ended. She was slightly curious as to why he was here, but relief overcame her and she didn't really care. If she hadn't acted quicker, she wouldn't want to think what would happen…_

" _Hmm…" he hummed._

 _She didn't look at him, afraid that he might see the embarrassed look she was sporting. But she could hear footsteps walking away from there… and for a moment, she thought he was leaving. For a brief second, she was relief… only to widen her eyes when further sounds reached her ears; the sound of wooden material screeching against the floor, and then the footsteps coming closer… and she turned her head –_

 _Her eyes widened in even wider at the sight in front of her. Kurama was still standing there, hands on a chair now situated at the side of her desk and a smile etched on his lips. It was welcoming and friendly; almost as if he had known her for a long time._

" _W-wha—?" Botan's question couldn't quite leave her lips as she sat there, staring at him in shock and confusion. She was bewildered, wondering what he was doing – and why did he have to pull a chair so far away from where she was sitting?_

 _He raised an eyebrow at her surprised expression. "What's the matter?" he asked, but no reply came. She just looked at him wordlessly, as if she was looking for answers. A thought occurred in his head, "Oh – I pulled my chair here so I can sit with you. I'd like to use Yusuke's chair instead, as he sits in front of you and I don't have to go through all the trouble… but yeah, I just like my chair better. It feels more comfortable," he added a laugh at the end of his sentence, touching his eyes with mirth._

 _That wasn't really what she wanted to know – Well, he did answer one of the questions in her head… but what piqued her curiosity was what was he doing, sitting at her desk with her?_

" _T-that's not… well, I wanted to ask about the chair… but anyways, more importantly, why do you want to sit with me all of a sudden? School has ended already… you… should probably go home. Why are you here anyway?" she bombarded him with questions._

" _If that's so, why don't you go home too? Plus, why are you still here?" he countered back, silencing her and making her gulp._

" _I-I…" she tried to stutter out a comeback, but nothing came. She couldn't say anything and for a brief moment, she was frantic that he would find out. She began to rack her mind for excuses, but she was only dizzying her head._

 _He seemed to catch on to what the girl was thinking. She probably had something to hide and it was perhaps best if he kept his nose out of her business, but the problem was once his curiosity was piqued, he wouldn't be able to stay still for days if he didn't know. Still, it was amusing to watch her panic on what to say. He had only asked because he thought it would be fun to tease her a bit… but he didn't know she would give such an entertaining reaction._

 _He stifled a laugh and settled for a smile instead. Maybe he should stop teasing her already; the poor girl looked like she was about to faint. Clearing his throat and catching Botan's attention, he spoke, "I was at the library; I had to borrow some books before I go home. I came to class to pick up my things but I saw you reading that and I wanted to know what it was, which was why I greeted you – Botan-san."_

" _Oh… I see…" came Botan's only reply, before she realized, "Wait… how did you know my name? I don't think I told you, right?"_

" _No, not at all. I just like to memorize the names of my classmates, that's all. I'm quite the observant person, you see," he simply responded before putting an elbow on her desk, his chin coming to rest on his palm as he stared at her with a smile different than before – this one looked more mysterious, and his eyes seemed to look right through her, "And I must say, you are quite the intriguing one, Botan-san."_

" _W-what? Intriguing?" Botan asked, but instead of answering her, he merely looked down at the book she had in her hands._

" _I'm still curious about that book… May I see it?" he inquired in a silky tone, eyes looking up to gaze at her face which turned red quickly at his words._

" _S-see it?! N-no! You can't…" she refused._

" _Hmm… On the back cover, I can see a few words written on it… Like a synopsis or something, perhaps? It's a manga… huh? But I wonder what type of manga, hmm?" the boy spoke in a friendly tone, probably too friendly for Botan's taste. Something about the way he talked freaked her out… was he threatening her to let him look?_

" _I suppose if you're that insistent on hiding it from me, it's not an ordinary manga, right? What is it, I wonder? Does it contain inappropriate content? Hmm, perhaps… mm-hmm, it would be bad if someone find out, huh?"_

 _So he was._

 _Botan, embarrassed than ever, quickly gave him the book. She wasn't sure if she should do this, but he was really scaring her… what if he told someone else? She wouldn't be able to face her classmates ever again! Probably if she told him to keep quiet about it, he would._

 _Hopefully._

 _He grabbed the book, and she instantly started to babble, "L-listen, don't tell anyone else okay? I'll do anything you want, Kurama-kun... so please…!" she cut herself off when she realized he was giving the book a deadpan look and she grew uncomfortable._

" _Uh, Kurama-kun…?"_

" _Botan-san… you… like yaoi, huh?" he finally spoke after a while of staring at the front cover of the book; a man with brown hair and another man with black hair were holding hands – and as if it wasn't disgusting enough, there were pink, blossoming flowers drawn around them too. What bothered him even more was how oddly and surprisingly good the art was…_

 _A pink blush appeared on Botan's cheeks at his words. She was embarrassed – how could she give the book to him? And not to mention the bland way he had spoken served to make her feel more uncomfortable. It also made her want to defend herself._

" _I-I… um, it's not that bad, you know? I-I'm free to read anything I want, right?! I-It's my right! So d-don't go judging me…!" More stuttered out babbles continuously escaped her, her face growing redder and redder the longer he remained silent._

 _After a while, he silenced her, "Relax, Botan-san. I'm not judging you," he told her calmly, as he put the book on her desk, returning it to her. "Though I can't say I'm a fond of these kind of things either."_

" _O-oh." For a brief relieved second, she was glad that he didn't judge her. She heaved out a relieved sigh, her body relaxing a bit. But it was quick, as her body straightened up almost immediately after two seconds passed. "Y-you're not going to tell anyone, are you?"_

" _Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me," Kurama replied softly, a heartwarming smile finding its way to his lips. "And did you just call me Kurama-kun? Why, I'm honored you know who I am," he changed the subject._

 _Botan seemed to relax fully at the promise he made to keep it a secret; she wasn't sure if she trusted him completely, but this was okay for now. She let out a small giggle at his words; the first laugh she had with him. "Why wouldn't I? You're quite popular with the girls, after all! I'm the one surprised that you would know me of all people. To be honest, I don't think I stand out… but it's not as bad as it may sounds, I kinda prefer it that way."_

" _That's exactly why I want to know you better, Botan-san," Kurama mysteriously said all of a sudden; his voice tinted with friendliness and warmth. His soul-searching eyes smiling at her; the same way his lips were._

* * *

" _Hey hey, what's up, Botan?" Keiko sang, wrapping an arm around a confused bluenette. "I see you and Shuichi – or is it, Kurama – getting quite comfortable with each other… hmm hmm?"_

 _Botan shook her head, a laugh leaving her lips as Keiko wriggled her brown eyebrows her way. "Keiko, I'm not like that with him. We're just_ _ **friends**_ _."_

" _Well, you're kinda_ _ **close**_ _friends, don't you think?" Yukina's voice chimed in, sounding as teasing as Keiko's did._

 _The bluenette chose not to acknowledge the smaller girl's teasing, or Keiko's for that matter, knowing fully well that they wouldn't stop no matter how many times she told them there was nothing going on with her and Kurama._

 _The two had gotten awfully close with each other over the past few weeks; she didn't really know how though. At first, it was just Kurama pestering her about the yaoi mangas she kept trying to hide from everyone but still brought to school anyway, but after a while, he would occasionally 'drop by' to see her in class everytime school ended. And she said occasionally because she didn't always read her mangas after school, only sometimes, but during those times he made sure to keep her company everytime. Before they realized it, they started to spend more time with each other – with them eating lunches together a few times, and Kurama showing up everywhere she were just to bother her._

 _They had gotten too close – even to an extent that everyone in class seemed to notice their closeness. That was to be expected however, as Kurama would always tease her, and they would argue sometimes. He was frustrating at times, but Botan learned to get used to his habit of constantly poking fun at her._

" _Hey, Botan! Let's go eat lunch together today!" And there he was. Over the past weeks, they had dropped the 'Botan-san' and 'Kurama-kun' and merely called each other without the '-san' and '-kun'._

 _Botan looked towards the direction of the voice, sticking out her tongue at Kurama who was beckoning her with a hand and waving his bento in the other. The redhead's movements came into a halt, a frown forming on his forehead._

" _No way! I'm gonna eat with Keiko and Yukina!" Botan stubbornly refused._

 _He gave her a deadpan look, before walking over towards her. When he was two paces away from the girl, Kurama jerked her up, tugging her by the arm. It wasn't harsh, but gentle yet firm instead. Botan didn't mind it, a toothy grin forming on her face, slightly enjoying his reaction. He was always the one teasing her; so it was fun doing the teasing sometimes._

" _I don't care. I want you to eat with me today. My mother accidentally put too much food in my bento and I can't eat alone," Kurama's voice was a dangerous calm, warning her not to mess with him. He did not like being poked fun at. At all._

 _Botan stuck her tongue out at him again. "I don't wanna!" she replied in a childish tone, smirking on the inside at the underlying irritation in his eyes._

" _Botan…"_

" _Oh, get over it, Botan! Stop your lovers' quarrel and go ahead with your_ _ **close friend**_ _," Keiko suddenly piped up, her voice teasing, causing the two turned to look at her._

" _What lovers' quarrel?!" Botan exasperatedly yell, gawking at her brunette best friend._

" _Yeah, go ahead," this time Yukina chimed in, "We don't mind at all," she added as she started to giggle at the end of her sentence. Neither she nor Keiko justified her question with an answer._

" _That's right, babe," Kurama decided this was the perfect time to get back at her for teasing him just now, "They don't mind so let's go on ahead with our romance escapade," he seemed to slur out his words as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him in attempt to embarrass her._

 _Botan rolled her eyes, but the blush on her face was evident. She felt weird as soon as he touched her, although she paid the odd sensation no mind and merely glared at the redhead All the while she ignored the giggles coming from Keiko and Yukina, staring up at Kurama's satisfied smirk with a look of dismay._

" _Ugh… you're so disgusting…"_

" _I know," he replied all too knowingly, his smirk widening slightly, as his hold around her tightened, causing the girl too blush deeper, wondering whether he did that on purpose or unintentionally._

 _Still, she resisted the urge to deck him in the head and settled with pinching his shoulder instead, to which he immediately let go of her._

" _Ouch," he mumbled, rubbing the sore spot the girl's nails had dug into._

 _She giggled; Kurama joining her soon after. At that moment, she couldn't hear most of what Keiko and Yukina said to poke fun at her and Kurama, or the laughter escaping from everyone else besides her own and Kurama's._

* * *

" _Tell me again why I have to do this for you?" Botan stared in confusion at the piece of A4 paper in front of her, a pencil and eraser lying beside it._

" _You told me you're good at drawings, I just wanna see_ _ **how**_ _good," Kurama simply said, his tone tinted with an underlying excitement to watch his best friend draw something for him._

" _Are you doubting my abilities or something here, pal?" she joked, half-heartedly glaring at him._

 _Months passed since then, and they had grown closer – if that was even possible. And instead of only a mere close friend, Kurama had became one of her best friends, aside from Yukina and Keiko. She had gotten close to him than any boy could. Perhaps even more so than she was with Keiko and Yukina, whom she had spent almost a lifetime with, as she spent most of her time being with Kurama than being with the girls. They didn't seem to mind though; as long as she didn't forget about them. She never would; she would occasionally walked home with them, hang around at their houses and the such. But she and Kurama were inseparable, every moment at school was spent with being in each other's presences, and their occasional 'after school sessions' as she called it where they just continuously talked about various things also grew longer. One time, they had talked for so long that it was night before they realized it, and the school janitor had told them to go home._

 _A wholehearted laugh erupted from Kurama's chest, "That's not it at all, Botan. I just want to see you draw. Is that a crime?"_

 _She made a clicking sound with her tongue in her mouth. "No, it's not. And I'm really honored that you would want to see my drawing, but… I'm not the best, you know? So don't judge me if it doesn't turn out good to you… To me, I draw quite well though. But I'm afraid I'd disappoint her, people have different tastes in art after—" Botan stopped talking when Kurama suddenly grabbed her hand in his, the back of her hand touching his palm. He put the pencil on her palm, his other hand reaching out to curl her hand into a small fist, as if she was grabbing the small pencil in her hands by herself._

" _It doesn't matter," His voice was soft, demanding, and yet full with warmth as he spoke, "I just want to see."_

 _Botan nodded numbly, still surprised by his sudden actions. Even more surprising and bewildering was the way her heart thumped in her chest, and the butterflies she felt in her stomach. She had been feeling weird a lot lately around him; could it be…? Shaking the thoughts of her head, Botan tried to focus at the task at hand._

 _She drew in a breath, the tip of the pencil touching the pencil and her hand started to move…_

 _In mere minutes, she finished, having gotten fast at drawing after so much time she had spent on it at home. She heaved out a sigh, glad that she was now done. She didn't even notice how close Kurama was to her, until she felt a breath against her neck, causing her to jump in her seat._

 _She wanted to turn her head, but settled with averting her eyes to his face instead. Her eyes grew wide, a cute, red blush adorning her cheeks as she realized his body was in close proximity with hers. She was glad she didn't actually turn to look at him, or else, they would have accidentally kissed._

 _But Kurama wasn't looking back at her, and instead had his eyes on the drawing she did. It was of him; in a simple outfit of a white t-shirt, and blue trousers, along with sneakers. The art was so good, he thought it was almost similar to the real him. He hadn't realized how close their bodies were, as he was so preoccupied with watching her draw that he hadn't noticed he had closed their distance unintentionally._

" _You're amazing, Botan!" he said in utter amazement, his face brightening up in a radiant smile. He was more than impressed._

 _Kurama turned his head, making to look at her and compliment her even more – but nothing managed to come out. Nothing could._

 _As soon as he turned, his lips captured hers. At the sweet sensation of her soft lips against his, Kurama immediately jerked away, emerald eyes wide. It was only for a brief second, and when he looked around, he noticed none of their classmates saw what happened as it happened too quickly and they were too absorbed in what they were doing to pay attention to them. But… even for only a moment, he could still vividly remember how soft her mouth felt._

 _He looked down, and hesitated for a moment, but lifted his head to look at her face… She was as red as a tomato, a hand brought up to her lips. Seeing her so flushed, he couldn't help but get flushed as well. Feeling his ears grow hotter, Kurama looked away almost as instantly, and made to ease the weird situation, "Accidental kisses… well, they do happen right?"_

" _Hmm, yeah…" Botan mumbled back absent mindedly. Her hand slowly lowered to her chest, feeling the fast thumping of her heart, skipping beats… It was then she realized her suspicions had been true;_

 _She was in love with her own best friend._

* * *

 _Botan couldn't really remember how it all went down… It was one of those after school sessions again… she had been talking to him when all of a sudden she had gotten a papercut, and Kurama had licked her wound, surprising her… and the next thing she knew, she was grabbed by the wrist, pulled up from her chair, and pushed down on the table until her back was pressed against the hard wooden surface… before she realized it, she and Kurama were kissing, devouring each other's lips hungrily and Kurama's hands touching her at all sorts of_ _ **places**_ _…_

 _Hands placed firm on the redhead's chest, Botan pushed him away gently, breaking off the heated kiss they had been engaged in. "Wait, what are we doing?" she asked, her words coming out in breathless pants._

" _I don't know."_

" _Y-you don't know? Kurama, you're touching my body… y-you're doing weird things to me, to my breasts… and you're making it feel so good… Surely, you know what you're doing? I'm not—" her sentence was interrupted by her own moan, as the redhead once again squeezed her left breast._

" _You're not what?" Kurama's voice was low, deep and husky as the question left his lips. He could feel her nipple hardening against his palm even through the piece of clothing she wore and god, he loved it. But what he loved the most was her flushed face, amethyst eyes now darkened into a dark purple, hazy with what he could only recognize as lust… God, she was beautiful…_

 _Wanting to hear more of the sounds she made, wanting to feel more of her, wanting to see her face twisted in more pleasure… Kurama swiftly pulled up her school uniform, exposing the soft mounds of flesh and the rosy pink buds on her breasts to his hungry eyes… He darted his tongue out to lick his lips at the sight._

" _K-Kurama!" Botan cried out his name, trying to pull down her school uniform, only to be stopped by Kurama who grabbed both her wrists and pinned them above her head. "I-I'm not sure if we should—"_

" _Why not?" His husky voice was tinted with desperation, as he bent down his tongue touched one rosy bud, teasing, flicking and circling around. Despite her protests, Botan moaned loudly at the attention he gave to her nipples, a weird sensation building inside her and making her feel wet between her legs._

 _All of a sudden, his mouth close on her nipple, sucking hard, earning a gasp from the girl below him. Botan's legs began to shake as Kurama continued to tease her nipples. In spite all the pleasure she felt, she somehow found her voice. "K-Kurama… Stop! W-we can't-!"_

 _As soon as those words left her, Kurama removed his mouth from her breast, making Botan shiver as the cold breeze touched her now saliva slicked nipple. "Botan, don't you like me…?"_

" _O-of course I like you, you're my friend…"_

" _That's not what I mean," he sharply replied, eyes staring down at her face. He noticed there were tears in her eyes, almost as if she was about to cry if they went on with what they were doing. For a brief moment, she saw his eyes reflected regret, but only for a second, as the serious look in them returned. "Do you… like me? Like, really like me?"_

 _Botan's eyes widened in realization at what he was trying to say. "I-I… Um, why…?"_

" _Because I like you, a lot," his words came out gentle, full of the affection he felt for her all this time, "and I've been holding back… At first I was content with just having feelings and being around you… but ever since we accidentally kissed that day, I just… can't stop this desires you ignite inside me… I need you, Botan. Just having you around isn't enough anymore, I want you… for myself. I've been controlling myself for so long, I just can't..."_

 _She wasn't sure if this was just her imagination; was she hearing things? But she knew she wasn't, yet… it was so hard to believe all this time he had been hiding his feelings for her. She didn't know why she didn't realize it sooner… all the attention he gave her… At that moment, her tears started to come out._

 _Kurama, seeing this, panicked, his eyes widening in alarm. "B-Botan… I'm so sorry, I know all of this is going too fast… I should've thought about_ _ **your**_ _feelings first… I-It's okay if you don't like me back, I don't mind… I promise I wouldn't do this again so please don't cry," he practically begged, starting to get furious at himself for making her cry._

 _She shook her head, the overwhelming happiness she felt still swelling inside her and her face brightened up with a bright, overjoyed smile. "That's not it, Kurama… I'm not sad or upset… I'm just so happy… You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that…"_

" _Botan… does this mean…?" his voice trailed off, shocked by her words. When she nodded, a giggly 'mm-hmm' following after, Kurama's heart swelled with happiness. The regret and wrath he had felt initially disappearing in mere seconds, replaced by a feeling of relief. He wanted to say something, but as if there were no words to describe how much joy he felt, he settled with a warm smile instead, bending down to kiss her tears away._

" _Kurama…" her voice came, sounding nervous, alarmed and yet, excited at the same time. Although her eyes held anxiety in them as she stared up at him, he could see the repressed desire in her amethyst pools._

" _Hmm?"_

" _What if…" she paused for a second at the feeling of his hands on the top of her panties, his fingers curling, and pulling down the lace underwear. A shiver went down her spine at the idea of being touched there of all places, but she still went on, squeezing her legs together, "… someone comes in?"_

" _It's fine," he replied smoothly, sending her a smile and pulling her thighs apart as she tried to hide her most sacred place from his wandering eyes. "Isn't it more exciting that way?"_

" _W-what? B-but…"_

" _What's the matter?"_

" _I-I... um… this is my first time…"_

" _I'll be gentle," he added, and his smile widened as his eyes felled to the spot between her legs before looking up at her slightly flushed face. "This is your first time, I'll try to give you as much pleasure as possible and make it the best experience ever," he whispered, his voice soft yet husky at the same time, eyes clouded with lust at the thought of tasting her, but the underlying affection of his love was evident._

" _H-have you done this before…?" Botan asked, wondering if the redhead knew what he was doing. She had no doubt in his abilities to please her, but she pondered if she was his first, or if he'd done it with someone else._

" _No, this is my first time as well… I'm not sure what to do, but I have an idea… I've done my own research after all…" Kurama's voice seemed to trail off, as his hand wandered down from her throat, to the valley between her breasts, slowly and slowly descending down her stomach, before stopping just above her womanhood. He lingered there for a moment before lifting his head up to look at her. A seductive smirk tugged at his lips, his eyes dancing in mischief. "Anyway, sweetheart… there's something I've always wanted to try…"_

 _Botan stared at him with bewildering eyes, wondering what he was up to. She was about to ask, but before she could say anything, Kurama's head was between her legs. He kissed, sucked, made teasing licks… and she arched her back, her fingers digging into the wooden surface of her own desk. His tongue entered her, pulling in and out… at first slowly, but after a while he started to gain a faster past, pumping inside her…_

 _The sounds that came out of her mouth almost sounded as if they didn't come from her; but they all reflected the pleasure he gave her. The sweet, numbing pleasure that made her mind go blank._

 _She wasn't sure how she got home; he pounded her so hard she couldn't walk… but she could distantly remember feeling herself being carried, her head buried in the warm, comfortable back of another person… Kurama…._

* * *

 _The next day, everything just went downhill._

 _Morning came and she went to see him, but he wasn't in class. Wondering where he could be, she looked around the school for him… until her feet took her to the back of the school and greeted her with a sight she couldn't believe she was seeing._

 _There, beneath the tree, stood Kurama and another girl… his back was pressed against the tree, hands placed on each of the girl's shoulder… but it wasn't that that caught her attention the most… it was the fact that Kurama's lips were crushed against the girl's that she was focused on…_

 _Almost as if she just noticed they were being watched, the girl pulled away and turned her head to her direction. A small, satisfied smirk crossed her face as her brown eyes stared back at Botan's wide amethyst ones… It was Maya Kitajima. Botan had heard of how close she and Kurama was in the past, but they grew apart as soon as they became high schoolers… but from what Botan saw, was this really what they called_ _ **'grew apart'**_ _?_

" _My my, it seems we have a spectator," Maya's voice was friendly, but she caught on the underlying irritation._

" _Botan…" Kurama whispered her name as soon as he turned to look at who it was that Maya meant. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the bluenette standing in front of them… Finally realizing the situation, Kurama made to explain what was going on. "Listen, Botan…"_

 _Maya interrupted him. "What are you doing? Are you here to see Kurama? You guys are close these few months, huh? Well… I'm sorry to say this, but Kurama's busy right now."_

 _Botan bit her lip, trying to control herself from cursing the other girl. Her hands curled into fists, and she forced the words out of her, "I'm sorry to bother you. I'll be going now," Her voice was oddly polite, causing Kurama to flinch. But before he could say anything, Botan turned around, making to leave the two alone._

 _Panic and fear took over him, and he chased after her, not wanting her to misunderstand. He didn't care even if he left Maya, all he needed now was to talk to her…_

" _Botan, wait!" Kurama grabbed her by the forearm, stopping her from walking any further. "I-It's not what you think—"_

 _She harshly pulled her arm out his grasp, turning around to look at him with a pained expression. There were tears in the back of her eyes, the pair of amethysts had lost the warmth he had always seen in them, replaced by only hurt and hatred of his betrayal. Her body shook, as she tried to hold herself back from punching him. "What the hell 'isn't what I think', Kurama?! You were kissing… Kissing another girl… What are you trying to do?! Are you trying to toy around with my feelings? Yesterday… was what you told me just a lie?"_

" _Botan…" He heaved out a sigh, before shaking his head at her. He reached a hand up to touch her face, but she backed away as soon as he was mere inches from her._

" _Don't fucking touch me, and don't talk to me anymore… or I swear to god, I'll kill you!" Botan screamed, her voice raising to a notch, before she turned around, hastily leaving him._

 _She wanted to get as far away from him, lest she would cry in front of him._

* * *

 _The rest of the day proceeded normally… or at least, as normally as it possibly could. Neither Kurama nor Botan spoke to one another since then; of course, the redhead made attempts to talk to her but everytime he failed as she completely ignored him. And as if unsure of what he should do, he stopped trying._

 _ **She avoided him.**_

 _ **And he avoided her**_ _._

 _They ignored the weird glances their classmates gave them; everytime either Keiko or Yukina asked what was wrong, neither said anything. Yusuke and Kuwabara even tried to prod Kurama to talk, but the redhead didn't let out one word._

 _Botan tried to make herself look happy; she didn't want anyone to notice the pain and anguish she skillfully hid from them. But, everytime… everytime some girl came near Kurama, talked to him and even laid their hands on him… she couldn't hide the displeased look on her face. Ever since she and Kurama stopped talking to one another, a lot of girls seemed to swarm him… Like flies around rotten fish, they came to him. It was pathetic; what made it even more pathetic was that they tried to make their moves on him as soon as she wasn't with him. Seeing as they no longer spent time with each other as they used to, Kurama was alone most of the time, except for when he went to lunches with Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara. It had been the opportunity for girls who had a crush on him to get closer to him._

 _ **What was even more pathetic than that**_ _; was his attempt to upset her. They talked to him, touched him, wrapped their arms around him… and he let them, and if that wasn't bad enough, he even flirted back. It was… strange to see him act like this. Everyone started wondering why Kurama suddenly changed but Botan knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to make her jealous;_ _ **what the hell was up with**_ _ **that**_ _?_

 _He succeeded however; as Botan's heart started to turn green with envy, accompanied by the red anger, and making matters worse. Although she didn't admit it, she knew Kurama could tell, even if she hid it from everyone else. She hated that the most._

" _Hey, Botan... I wonder why you and Kurama don't talk to each other?" someone spoke._

" _Yeah, yeah! Girls are flirting with him endlessly these days… aren't you jealous?" another one said._

" _Ha!" Botan scoffed, and almost as if she was trying to show the redhead not to mess with her and how she wouldn't go back to him no matter what he did, she added, "I don't care about what Kurama does, and who he's with. We don't have anything going on between us anyway."_

 _She made sure her voice was loud enough for him to hear her._

* * *

… It's been three weeks since then. In total, it had been four weeks and three days since they last spoken to one another. She had gotten used to ignoring him and being ignored by him; it had become somewhat bearable.

Botan sighed; a loud, exasperated sigh. Why did she have to go through all those memories again? She rolled onto her back, a hand placed on her head, closing her eyes as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to come out. No, she wasn't going to cry because of him again. She wasn't going to; especially not when tomorrow was supposed to be a fun day.

Yes.

A fun day.

And it wasn't only for a day.

But a week.

She was going to have fun on the trip, with or without Kurama; Botan made up her mind. Tomorrow, it would be another normal day. She'd just go and do the usual treatment; the silent treatment. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to it already. She had been patient for weeks now, she could be patient for another week. It wouldn't be that hard for someone like her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: YYH's rightful owner is Yoshihiro Togashi.**

 **Title: Do You Miss Me?**

 **By: WonderfulDemon123**

 **Chapter 3**

"Hey, Bo. You seem a little tired. Are you okay?" Kuwabara asked as soon as he saw her.

Everyone had arrived, even Yusuke who had been unexpectedly early. The carrot top was the first one that spoke to her about how she looked. As they walked into the train into the train, Botan just gave him a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Kuwabara," she lied. She didn't want to worry him. But to be honest, Botan, for the lack of better words in the morning, felt like complete shit. Her eyes were sore, and she didn't think she had any energy at all from the lack of sleep she got the night before. She wanted to sleep but decided to wait until she got to her seat.

Though the main reason she didn't feel _fine_ was because of a certain redhead. She hated to admit it, but in her tired state of mind didn't want to deny it either.

The minute he saw her, Kurama didn't even say anything. He gave her a mere glance; and even though it was fleeting, Botan knew he noticed how awful she looked. She thought he would at least, reacted a little… maybe asked her what was wrong. But then again, after weeks of without any communication with one another, why would he? _She had actually_ _ **hoped**_ , that he would say something, but that was just her stupid self.

She didn't even know why she was so surprised.

But she was slightly glad. The boys had decided to sit at the left side of the train, while the girls were on the right. Even though they were still facing each other, Botan was glad she didn't have to sit too close to the redhead.

"You didn't get enough sleep yesterday, did you?" Keiko suddenly spoke, bringing her out of her reverie.

Botan turned to look to the right beside her at the brunette, and for a moment, made a blank face. She was deep in thought and not to mention, her mind wasn't in its best condition, it took her some time to realize Keiko's question.

"Oh… um, yeah…" she answered tiredly, leaning back in her seat. "I think I slept at 4 am last night."

"4 am? _What_?!" Keiko nearly screamed. "What were you doing, staying up so late?"

"Were you studying?" Yukina who had been staring at the window, suddenly chimed in. She was sitting at Botan's left.

"Yukina dear," Keiko started, scratching her cheek with her forefinger with an awkward smile on her face, "Exams are over – for now and it's summer break! Why would anyone be studying? We should all be unwinding."

"It was nothing. I wasn't able to sleep, that's all," Botan told her.

"Why not?" Keiko continued to ask another question, but Botan decided not to answer. She didn't really want to tell them her lack of sleep was caused by Kurama.

Instead, she closed her eyes, and made it look like she was about to fall asleep. She didn't want her friend to prod even further into the matter. Keiko poked her in the arm as if wondering if she was listening. It worked; as Botan heard Keiko say, "Guess she needed some rest."

"Seems so," Yukina added.

Botan felt a wave of relief; it was a good thing that Keiko bought her trick. But as she sat there, for a few more moments, she couldn't help but getting drowsier. Especially when she was closing her eyes, it was only a matter of time before she actually fell asleep.

* * *

"Hey, Kurama," Keiko called all of a sudden. An hour passed, but they were still on the train.

Kurama looked up from the book he had been reading, and hummed in response. He didn't take his earphones off though as he made sure the sounds were in low volume so that he could still hear his friends.

"Uh… this might be sudden, but can you switch places with me?" she suddenly said, a toothy grin appearing on her face. It was a mixture of anxiety and embarrassment.

"Why?" Kurama asked, wanting a reason. He tried to keep his voice from sounding awkward, and attempted to talk as normally as possible. It wasn't as if he didn't know who was sitting beside the brunette. If they switched places, that would mean… He decided not to think further.

"I just… really, really need to talk to Yusuke," Keiko sounded desperate.

Kurama, not knowing what to do, inwardly sighed in defeat. It wasn't much of a good reason; he knew she just wanted to be next to her boyfriend, but he didn't think he could refuse – both because Keiko was Yusuke's girlfriend, and the brunette would surely not let him say no.

Standing up from his seat, Kurama caught Yusuke saying, "Thanks, man," and slightly wondered if the two had planned to sit together in the first place. He smiled back as Keiko walked past him, giving him a smile and a thumbs up.

"Hey," Keiko instantly wrapped herself around Yusuke's arm as soon as she was on Kurama's seat.

"Hey," Yusuke said back, scooting a little closer to his girlfriend. "For a moment there, I thought Kurama wouldn't agree," he added in surprise, leaning back in his seat, eyes staring at the figure of his redheaded friend who was sporting a normal face and now sitting at Keiko's. Somewhere in him though, Yusuke knew that Kurama wasn't that comfortable with the switch. Then, he watched as Kurama spared a glance at Botan, a sigh of relief escaping him before he looked away, as if he was glad that she was asleep.

"Yeah," Keiko agreed, before laying her head on Yusuke's shoulder, "Those two have been acting weird lately. It's been four weeks and they still haven't spoken a word to each other."

"Uh-huh… it's so… strange. They were inseparable, and suddenly, bam!" Yusuke's thumb and middle finger touched, making a sound, "in a split second, they're like strangers."

"I wonder what's up with them, man," Kuwabara suddenly interrupted, putting his arms on his elbows. "Everytime we ask anything, neither answers."

"Ya think it's serious?" Yusuke pondered, more to himself than Kuwabara actually.

The carrot top shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know? But, one thing's for sure, I'm so tired of seeing them like this, avoiding each other and avoiding our questions."

"Don't worry, Kuwabara," Keiko tried to reassure him after seeing his exasperated face, "I'm sure they'll make up sooner… serious or not, they can't avoid each other forever."

"Yeah… maybe. They're good friends, after all," Kuwabara said, despite knowing the term 'good friends' weren't suitable in the kind of situation where they weren't as close as they used to be. But he'd rather like to think positively.

"I'm sure they'll start talking to each other," Yusuke said with a laugh, "The whole purpose for this trip is to make them spend more time together and talk things through."

Kuwabara raised an eyebrow at him. "And what about unwinding after exams?"

Yusuke gave him a grin. "Yeah, well, that too for sure!" he said, before peeking a glance at his short friend sitting beside Kuwabara. "I wonder when Hiei's gonna wake up?"

* * *

Botan was slowly starting to wake from her sleep. She heard voices, one she recognized as Yukina and the other one as Kurama, causing her to be confused. It was so weird, Kurama sounded so close… as if he was sitting right beside her…

As if wanting to confirm her suspicions, Botan slowly opened her eyes, waiting her vision to clear. It was blurry at first, but after blinking a few times, she could finally see clearly. She turned to look at the seat beside her, and instead of Keiko who was supposed to be there, she saw Kurama and she froze in her spot. What more was that Kurama was staring right back at her.

The redhead seemed to freeze as well, as if he didn't expect her to be awake. Then, his shock died down soon after and he looked away in a haste, avoiding her gaze. She saw his mouth open and close, as if he was about to say something, but couldn't get the words out of him.

"Oh my!" Yukina's voice reached her ears, causing her to look away from Kurama and to the sea green haired girl sitting beside her. "You're awake."

"Ah, mm-hmm." Botan nodded her head, and smiled at the short girl, despite her confusion and shock as to why Kurama was there and not Keiko. "I feel refreshed!" she added, before giggling, a hand at her mouth.

"That's great to hear, I was worried we were talking too loud that we woke you up. I thought you didn't get enough sleep," Yukina told her, her voice relieved and her expression the same.

"Nah!" Botan dismissed her with a wave of her hand, "You know how I am, Yukina. I won't wake up even if there was a bomb exploding next to me," she reassured the girl, laughing and Yukina joined her.

"Yes, I know," Yukina replied knowingly, before turning her head, her gaze focused on her twin brother. "Hiei's been sleeping for quite a while too."

"Oh." Botan followed her gaze, seeing the spiky haired boy who was sleeping with his arms and legs crossed. "Why, did he not get enough sleep like I did? I didn't notice. I mean, he didn't look that tired…" she mumbled.

She heard a giggle escape Yukina, and returned her gaze to her, tilting her head in curiosity.

Yukina stopped giggling after a while, and then gave her a wide smile. Her teeth were showing and the corners of her mouth stretched. "It's not because of lack of sleep, Botan. A while ago, when you were sleeping, he said he was bored of waiting so he wanted to sleep. He told us to wake him up when the train stops."

Botan gave a wholehearted laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like Hiei."

"Yep," Yukina agreed, nodding her head. Then, all of a sudden, her smile felled, and as if she just realized something, she gasped, with a hand on her mouth. Botan wondered what was wrong and realized that she was looking at Kurama. On impulse, she followed Yukina's gaze.

"I'm so sorry, Kurama!" Yukina apologized, "We've been talking on and on and had totally neglected you!"

Kurama waved a hand at her, the corners of his mouth stretching up and forming a smile, "I don't mind it at all, Yukina," he told her, before adding in his thoughts, 'It's not like I was able to say anything at all anyway'. He knew for certain if the three of them conversed together, it would be awkward as Botan would ignore him either way.

"Oh, if you say so," Yukina was reassured, a smile finding its way to her face. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Kuwabara waving a hand at her, beckoning her to him. She turned, giving him a questioning look but decided to comply anyway. Turning to look at Botan and Kurama, she said, "Excuse me, but Kazuma wants me there with him."

"Huh? Why?" Botan asked, although she knew Kuwabara merely wanted to flirt with his girlfriend. She was asking, because she didn't want to be alone with Kurama.

"I'm not sure, but I have to go for a moment," Yukina said, before standing up. "You two play nice now," and with that, she walked over to where Kuwabara was.

Botan was frantic. She saw Kuwabara pushed Hiei away, not hard enough to wake him up though, and made a place for Yukina to sit while Hiei was forced to sleep at a different and empty seat, right beside Yukina as she sat between him and Kuwabara. If this was a normal situation, Botan would've laughed, thinking that Kuwabara should've been glad that Hiei hadn't woken up, but instead, she was starting to panic. She was all alone now, with Kurama. Silently, she wondered why this was happening and pondered on what to do… She was used to ignoring him, but they had never been alone like this before and not to mention, they were sitting right next to each other!

Suddenly and surprisingly, Kurama spoke, though his voice sounded a bit awkward, "How… are you feeling?"

"Huh?" she stupidly replied. Shocked, she sat there staring at him for a few moments and he stared back. She felt her heart thumping loudly in her chest, and she finally stuttered out a reply, "U-uh… I-I feel better, thank you. After getting e-enough sleep..." She hadn't expected him to say anything at all, but he did. For some reason, that made her happy even though she shouldn't be. Those were the first few words he had said to her ever since four weeks ago, and she was glad it wasn't something bad.

"Um… no, that's not what I mean," Kurama started, scratching the back of his head, looking away for a moment, "I know how you feel after sleeping… I meant how you feel about the trip." He was trying to make conversation, he knew, and he also knew she knew that. He didn't know how, but he found the courage to talk to her. It was probably because he didn't want the situation to be awkward. If the others were here, he had no doubt in his mind this conversation he was having with her wouldn't take place.

"Huh? Uh, um…" She sounded nervous. He couldn't blame her, he was nervous too. Except he was better at hiding and controlling it. He heard her clear her throat, and turned to look at her.

"I-I'm kinda excited… this is the first trip I've had for such a long time. I mean, with everything at school, we're so busy we hardly have any time. I'm glad we could all spend summer break together. To be honest, at first I thought I wouldn't have anything to do. It's great that Keiko invited me… Plus, we haven't hung out for a long time – me, Keiko and Yukina – so I thought this was a great opportunity to do fun things together," She didn't know why she was talking so much. It wasn't as if she had gotten over her own anxiety, but she was just so nervous that she couldn't stop the minute she opened her mouth, and not to mention, she was talking fast too.

"Oh," a smile found its way to Kurama's lips. He watched as she fumbled with her skirt, fidgeting in her seat a little before looking at him.

"Um… what about you?" Botan found herself asking before she knew it.

"The same as you… except I don't feel the same way about Yusuke and the others like you do…" Kurama told her, leaning back in his seat.

She made an 'oh' sound, before turning to avert her gaze from him. But he kept his eyes on her, eyeing her movement as she fidgeted every now and then. Neither seemed to say anything after that, but he wanted to talk longer. And the longer he stared at her, the more he realized that he wanted to talk about what happened between them. Maybe… it was time to talk to things through… He had been avoiding her for weeks, mostly because he was hurt by how she treated him and how she ignored every attempt from him to speak to her. He had been clueless as to what to do; he thought he did everything could… He was afraid of her avoiding him, so he did the same thing… but he never had any attentions to stop talking to her permanently. If he talked to her, they could go back the way they were. He _wanted_ them to go back to the way they used to be. He didn't want her to misunderstand any longer, he decided. He realized then he made a mistake of not speaking to her for so long.

Opening his mouth, he tried to slow down the fast pace of his beating heart, "Listen, Botan… about what happen that day—" but whatever he said was cut off, as the train came to a stop. Before he realized it, Botan stood up and walked over towards the others. He sat there for a few moments, until Yusuke started calling him, saying that they were opening the doors. His shock dying down, now replaced by disappointment and frustration that he had been interrupted at the wrong time.

Nonetheless, he stood up and followed behind a dazed looking Hiei who seemed like he was still half asleep, making a note to himself to find the right time to talk to her.

* * *

"Wow!" Yusuke said in amazement, looking around the place. Everything around them; from the many villagers scattered around, to the stalls. They had only walked a few minutes into the village, when Keiko suddenly proposed that they should go buy some things at the market before heading to where they would be staying. What attracted him the most above everything that seemed to be sold here was the kids running around with costumes and holding candy apples. Did they sell costumes here or something? "Your village is really awesome, Keiko."

"Well, that _is_ why I wanted us to go on a trip here," Keiko started, "There's a lot of fun things for us to do here. This market basically has anything you need, even the ones you _don't_ need… and there is a few hot spring here and there."

"Hot springs?" Botan brightened up at the words, her eyes glimmering in excitement. "Oh, I wanna go, I wanna go! It'll be fun to try _all_ the hot springs."

"Yeah, it would," Keiko agreed with a laugh, "There's also a sauna nearby if you want to go sometime, B. It would be sooo relaxing!"

"Wow! A sauna!" Kuwabara was torn between laughing and being amazed. "Your village really does have everything, huh?"

"Yup!" Keiko nodded her head, founding herself getting prideful from all the compliments Yusuke and Kuwabara threw at her. "And the people here are really friendly too. Oh, hello, Himeno-obaasan," she greeted an old woman who smiled at her and walked past them before continuing, "Anyway, they're also very welcoming."

She turned to look at Yukina and Botan, her mouth stretching into a wide ear-to-ear grin, "Hey, Botan, Yukina. You guys want to go take a swim in the lake later on?"

"Oohh!" Botan jumped up and down. "Hot springs and the lake... I'd love that a lot! I've never swam in a lake before. I can't wait!"

"Have ya swam in the pool?" Yusuke suddenly butted in.

Botan was confused. "Yeah, so?"

"Then you'll notice it's not that different," he replied, before rolling his eyes.

He was soon 'rewarded' with a smack on the head from his own girlfriend. "It is, you idiot! It's nature!"

Yusuke rubbed the spot where Keiko hit him, glaring daggers at her direction. "Yeah, yeah, whatever…"

They stopped at one stall when Yukina suddenly gushed at something she saw. "Oh my god! That's so cute!" she girlishly said, pointing a finger at a dog mask hanging on the wall in the midst of other masks.

"You want it, sweetie?" Kuwabara asked, after averting his gaze to where she pointed.

"Yes!" Yukina exclaimed in excitement. She had always liked cute things, she wanted the dog mask so bad. "You guys wait here, I'll be back in a moment," she told them, before taking paces forward towards the stall.

"Wow. Yukina really like things like that, huh…" Kurama suddenly spoke up after being quite for a while. He had just finished reading his book – albeit it was quite dangerous to read while walking in a crowd, but he was aware enough of his surroundings, he didn't mind. And the minute he had closed the book, those were the first words he said after getting off the train.

"Oh hey, Kurama spoke!" Yusuke said, his voice sounding taunting and surprised at the same time. He blurted out laughing as he went on, "I thought ya were gonna be mute for the rest of the trip, man."

Kurama gave him an exasperated look, not really appreciating his friend sense of humors. He was quite used to it though by now. "I was reading my book, Yusuke. _Some_ people still _read_ these days, mind you," he countered and emphasized, rolling his emerald eyes.

He ignored the heated stare Yusuke sent his way, and turned to look at Hiei who spoke, "Hmph. You read while you walk? You really _are_ stupid."

"Yeah! You could've bumped into someone," Kuwabara chimed in.

Kurama sweatdropped, not sure how the conversation was suddenly revolved around him. "But I didn't, so it's _fine_ , Kuwabara," he told, his voice reassuring but everyone caught the underlying irritation in the tone he used. He emphasized, silently telling them to drop the subject.

"Well, that's to be expected," Botan's voice reached their ears, gaining everyone's attentions, "You were always in your own world when it comes with books," she said without even realizing it. After a few moments, as if she just snapped out a trance, Botan's eyes widened like saucers and her hand immediately flew to her mouth as realization came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks: Did. She. Really. Just. Say. That.

Botan couldn't believe herself. What was wrong with her today? She blurted that out on accident! And not to mention, the way she said it made her sound like she thought she knew him. Well, she _did_ know him but with how things were between them now… She was so embarrassed with herself!

Wanting to ease the awkward moment, Botan quickly blurted out, "Oh hey, Yukina's here! So come on, let's go on ahead!" as soon as Yukina walked over towards them with the mask in her hand. The smaller girl in question tilted her head to the side in curiosity, wondering why Botan sounded nervous and awkward.

"Yeah, sure. Let's," Yusuke agreed, albeit he was snickering along with Kuwabara and Keiko.

As the others walked, Kurama stood there for awhile. He was shocked beyond definitions, not expecting to hear her talk about him like that. It was sudden, brief, and she immediately tried to cover it up, but it was enough to show him how much she was still in love with him.

Feeling his heart thump loudly in his chest, he started to walk, reminding himself not to get left behind. His eyes stared at Botan's petite back, a smile reaching its way to his face. It was wide, exposing pearl white teeth, filled with overwhelming joy. A grin – a _toothy grin_ – unlike the usual smiles he made at all.

… _He was happy_.

"What's with that dumb look on your face?" Hiei remarked, after noticing the weird expression his redheaded friend was wearing.

"Oh? Nothing, Hiei," Kurama replied happily, all too happily for his usual self. Hiei's insult was paid no mind, and the shorter male raised an eyebrow at him.

 _He hasn't felt this happy for a long time._

He had initially thought the trip wouldn't be as fun as it should be.

Maybe it wouldn't be _that_ bad.


End file.
